Chicken liver pâté

2 HOURS + CHILLING | SERVES 4 AS A STARTER| EASY

chicken livers 225g onion 1, peeled and chopped bacon 100g, chopped garlic 2 cloves, peeled butter 75g double cream 3 tbsp brandy 1 tbsp toast to serve cornichons to serve (optional)

• Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. De-vein the chicken livers, rinse under a running tap and pat dry on kitchen paper. Put the onion, bacon, garlic and butter in a roasting tin, and cook in the oven for 20 minutes until the onion is soft.Add the chicken livers to the tray and roast again for another 5 minutes until the livers are pink but not brown (do not overcook). Turn the oven down to 110C/fan 90C/gas ¼.

• Whizz everything from the baking tray in a blender, add the cream and brandy, and mix well. Transfer the mixture to ramekin dishes and put into a baking tray. Pour hot water into the tin until it comes half way up the sides of the ramekins, then transfer to the oven for 1 hour. Spoon over the clarified butter if you’re not eating the pâté immediately. Cool completely before serving.

PER SERVING 382 KCALS | FAT 33G | SATURATES 19.2G CARBS 3.6G | FIBRE 0.8G | PROTEIN 15.2G | SALT 1.4G

Victoria Moore writes for The Telegraph and is the author of How to Drink (£12.99, Granta). Read her blog howtodrink.co.uk